Soccer, bubbles and paint

We have had some beautiful weather here the past few days!  My kids LOVE playing outside!  Me? Not so much.  I really don't like to get sweaty or dirty.  However, I have really enjoyed getting outside with the kids lately.  The time change has been nice also.  A little extra daylight means more time to play outside.  I also have been running with the New Runners Club and am loving it.  I actually look forward to running and feel a little lost on my off days.  To curb that "lost" feeling and keep me on my path to getting in shape, I have been doing some quick workouts that the hubby has helped me with on my off days.  

 

We've had a lot going on lately.  Adrianna started her first season of soccer!  She had one practice then the next day had a game.  We loved watching her play.  She did really well for not having played before and was the biggest cheerleader for her team.  I just loved watching her jump up and down while she cheered her team on from the sidelines.  It was cold and rainy for her first game and we were miserable but she loved it!   

Looking like a pro already ;)

We got some things done around the house this weekend.  One of those thing was replacing the flowers in the flower boxes on the front porch and potting a few other flowers.  

 

The past few weekends Aaron had been helping me get my sewing room ready.  A lot of the things I am using in my sewing room I have had for a long time.  Just waiting to put it all together!  There were several things that needed to be painted and one big item got an overhaul!  

A few weeks ago we got a new TV and had to replace the entertainment center.  The new TV wouldn't fit in it.  Before we got the new TV stand Aaron suggested that he do some cosmetic surgery on our ginormous one that we had and try to use it instead of buying new.  After a few measurements he decided it wouldn't work.  This entertainment center is the one that had been in my house as I was growing up for as long as I can remember.  It was passed down to me and Aaron and we have used it ever since.  I wanted to sell it but Aaron wanted me to keep it to use in my craft room.  Well, this thing is really big.  And really tall.  I argued that it would be too big and over power the room.  He argued all the storage potential it had.  It didn't go with my room.   He again mentioned he could cut the top off.  I was kinda coming around to the idea then my friend Erin came over and said, "You should cut the top off and just have the drawers.  Paint it!"  So guess what . . . you ready to see the before and after pics?

BEFORE

 Here is the monstrocity of an entertainment center before.  (Please ignore all the junk, we were moving things around)

AFTER

 And after a facelift, here we are!

With plenty of drawer space for fabric and other things!  My Mom came over and helped me move all my fabric from the hall closet to the drawers.  It was a two person job.  There are 4 drawers of fabric.  I think I have a problem . . .

A nice little cubby.  This is probably my favorite thing about this piece of furniture.  My sister and I used to hide in this hole when we were little. (the shelf is removable)

 A place for my thread on top!

 I have been so excited to have a place for my thread.  You just don't understand!  I bought this spool rack about a year ago and painted it a pretty shade of blue and it has been sitting in the garage ever since!  Every time I need a different color of thread I had to go in the garage to get it.  

 My sewing desk.  Obviously I haven't used it to sew on because my sewing machine is in it's case on the floor to the right of the table!  I bought this table at a yard sale a few years ago.  I wanted it really bad but got it for Ava.  I painted it the color the I wanted to paint it and it has been in her room until we repainted a desk that was my Grandmother's and switched them out.  Actually, my Grandmother's desk would have been more suitable for sewing but I love the lines of this one!

This little corner isn't quite finished.  I really need to find some type of shelving to go to the left of my desk.  I have a pretty yellow lamp that needs a home and I think it would work perfectly there if I can find the right type of shelf . . . may just have to make one . . . The three pieces of art hanging on the wall there are all painted by Adrianna.  I'll  have a place for Ava's as well.  She just needs to paint some pictures for me!

 Here we have a reclaimed piece of trash!  Sometime last year my friend Erin and I went walking while the kids had choir practice.  She got to church before me and spotted this piece of trash.  Of course it was minus the blue paint and chicken wire but she saw potential and new I was looking for stuff for my room.  So I loaded it in my car and hauled it home.  I wish I had taken a before picture but it was just some kind of particle board used for packaging.  Now it's a place to clip fabric swatches and yarn for color stories and ideas and pictures my kids draw!

 I have had this shelf for about 2 years.  Just sitting in the garage.  So not too long ago Aaron took it to Goodwill without asking me.  When I noticed it was gone I was so upset.  He thought since it had been sitting in the garage for 2 years I wasn't going to use it.  So, he went to GW to see if it was still there.  He was so lucky it was still there.  He had to buy it back for $3.99.  What a bargain!

So, my room is getting there.  Slowly but surely!  I'll post more pictures as I get more of it finished.

Today we enjoyed more beautiful weather and the girls played outside with chalk, bubbles and basketball.

Love this face!

Now I am going to get the girls ready for bed!  I won't be too far behind them.  I'm tired!

Natalie

Weekend Fun

Saturday night was the Father/Daughter dance at our local Arts Center.  I was thrilled that Aaron took the girls!  They met up with some friends before hand for dinner then went to the dance.  I hear it was quite fun.  I had about 3 hours to myself and that was nice!

Before the dance the girls and I spent some time getting ready.  That was the fun part for me!  We did hair and "makeup" (lip gloss) then they put their dresses on.

They hid their dresses from Aaron and wouldn't let him see them until they were ready.  It was so cute and they were so excited!

Aaron was excited, too.  I think.  I'm so glad that he did this with the girls.  He won't know how much it means to them but they will never forget it!

 My silly family.  It's so hard to get a "normal" picture.   That is their normal.

 I think this is my favorite picture . . .

 Love this picture, too!

This afternoon we went to my Mom's for lunch.  The girls, Opa, and Aaron enjoyed some backyard basketball after lunch.

Monkey!

Oh look, here is another monkey!

Mom and Adrianna took the opportunity to clean out a flower bed.  Afterwards Adrianna's hands started itching and her lip swelled up so we had to cut our visit short and go home for some Benadryl.

We did stop by Sherwin Williams before we went to Mom's to pick out paint for my next project.  I knew what color I wanted when we went in but came out with something totally different.  I'll have before and after pictures hopefully soon!

Natalie

Catching up . . .

OK, it's been a while since I've written a blog post.  It's not that I haven't had anything interesting going on, I've just been busy.  Let's catch up!

Here's what's been going on . . . I've been working on a quilt for Adrianna.  My first quilt.  Hand quilting, might I add.  This is so addictive!  I'm a get it done type person so I usually look for the quickest yet most effective way to do something.  Not out of laziness mind you, just because I tend to try to tackle too many projects at once.  However, I am completely enamored with learning how to do something the way my Grandmother and great Grandmother did.

 This is the back of the quilt.  I'm quilting the paisley pattern.

I did sew all the pieces for the quilt with my sewing machine but I am doing the quilting by hand.  I planned to use my sewing machine to quilt it but was convinced by my friend who is teaching me to quilt to try doing it by hand.  I'm still working on the quilt but it is turning out to be so pretty!  I am already planning 2 more quilts.  One for Ava and one for me!

The girls made Valentine's cards for their classes (both Pinterest inspired). . .

For Ava's class.

 For Adrianna's class.

 From Ava to me and Aaron.  I asked her if she was writing a ransom note.

 Aaron gave all his girls Reese's and took us to dinner.

This weekend we outfitted Adrianna with soccer gear to ready her for her 1st season of soccer.  She is so excited!

please ignore the mess in the background.  Aaron is putting my chair together for my crap craft room.  

We've been working on the room for a while and I have dubbed it the crap room because for some reason it has accumulated tons of crap that doesn't belong there.  We've tossed out several bags of trash and junk toys from the girls.  I hate cleaning out stuff, I get overwhelmed and have anxiety attacks but I got in there one day last week and made tons of progress.  Now I have to tackle a monstrosity of an entertainment center and turn it into storage for my craft room.  I'll soon have before and after pictures.  I hope.

Something else that is "new" is that I've been running with the Mebane New Runners Club.  Yep, that's right, I've been running.  If you know me then you know that I don't like to sweat.  Well, you tend to sweat a lot when running.  But guess what, I'm OK with that.  I ran yesterday on a different route that was mostly an incline starting out.  Big mistake!  My legs were killing me by the time I got to the halfway point.  Then I had to turn around and go downhill which was just as bad.  Running downhill with tired legs is not as easy as it sounds.  Anyway, I took today off because my legs were very sore this morning.  I'm hoping for a good run tomorrow.  Ava likes to run with me when she can and I love it.  It gives us a chance to spend some time together and to talk.

While we were outfitting Adrianna with soccer gear I also picked up a few pieces to add to my running wardrobe.  Hey, I still have to look nice when I run or it's no fun!


We've had crazy weather here.  One day it's 70 degrees and the next day it snows!

I took this picture Sunday night.

The snow didn't last long but it was pretty.  The past two days it has been really windy.  The weather was beautiful yesterday until a little after lunch time.  It was in the 70's for most of the day then the wind picked up and we had tornado watches in the afternoon.  Today was cold and windy.  I stayed inside.

I'm currently on book number 8 of the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich.  These books are so fun to read.  I'm also reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot.  Wow, this book is so good!  I really don't like to read non-fiction or biographies all that much.  I'm more of a fiction lover.  BUT, if a non-fiction book has a great story to go with it and is written well then I'll read it.  I do love history and like to read about the lives of people but if it is all dates and names and places with no story, I'm lost.  This book is really well written and I highly recommend it!

Well, the girls and Aaron came home a little while ago from the Father/Daughter dance.  Adrianna has been sitting with me while I type and she just conked out so I'm going to snuggle with her for a few more minutes then take her to bed.  I'll have pics of the girls and Aaron from their date tomorrow!

Natalie

Confessions . . .

I made a confession to Aaron when we were in the car the other day. We were in Burlington and were headed home.  I wanted to stop somewhere that wouldn't take us on the interstate instead it would take us the way I go to work everyday.  Aaron complained how he hated going that way and I said I loved it.  He looked at me like I had two heads.  Well, I love it because it's an easy drive.  Pretty much a straight shot from the house which means I don't have to do a lot of thinking while I drive it.  I like this drive because I have about 20-25 minutes each way to listen to what I want to listen to in the car.  Which is usually a book on CD.  Yep!  I'm one of those people who like to listen to books on audio!  I love to read and there are soooo many books I want to read but I don't have enough time so I listen to them.  Sometimes I listen to books that I would never read but need to listen to something.  Sometimes I'll get a book on CD and take it out as soon as it starts because the narrator is terrible but for the most part I like listening to someone else read the book to me.  Whew!  So there we go.  I feel better now.  While I'm unloading here are a few more confessions . . .

1.)  I love to read books in a series.  A few weeks ago I borrowed One for the money (Stephanie Plum series) by Janet Evanovich form the library.  I have a friend who loves these books and has been telling me for a long time that I need to read them.  Well, I got the first book on CD from the library because I knew the movie was getting ready to come out and if there is a movie based on a book you better believe I'm going to read the book before I watch the movie.  I wasn't sure if I was going to like it.  I loved it!  So now I've reading the rest of them and am on the 5th one now.  There are 18.

2.)  Now I want to be a bounty hunter.  Not really!  But the main character in the Stephanie Plum series is one and I like her character :) 

3.)  They know me by name at the library.  That's how often I go there.  I reserve books online quite often so they will call when the books come in to let me know they are ready.  Usually whoever is working will see me come in and go ahead and get my book from hold.  Love it!

4.)  I bought a book at the 99 cent book store that I already have.  And I have read it twice already.  I bought it because it's a hard back and the copy I had at home is paperback.

5.)  I'm dreading tomorrow.  First run with the New Runners Club tomorrow morning.  I hate getting up early on Saturdays and I really don't want to do this.  But I am.  We are meeting at 7:30 a.m. and it's going to be freezing cold.  Like 30 degrees.  I can think of one other thing I would rather be doing on a 30 degree Saturday morning at 7:30 a.m. and that is still sleeping in my nice warm bed. 

6.)  I made hand warmers to go in my pockets so my fingers don't freeze off while I'm running in the morning.

7.)  I ate at Chick-fil-a twice this week, once on Wednesday then again today.  It was Aaron's choice both times.   I only got a chocolate milkshake on Wednesday.

8.)  I bought a Coke and a Reese's cup at lunch yesterday.  I haven't been drinking soda's lately and I really haven't missed them.  I only drank half of it.

9.)  The Reese's was a King size.  I only ate 2 yesterday.  The other 2 just now.  And drank the other half of my coke.  I really am going to have to run tomorrow aren't I?

10.)  I love getting "coupons" from my sister in the mail.  What I really love is that she always sends them in a cute little card and writes a message in them.  It makes my day :)

Natalie

A long weekend

We had a busy but fun weekend!  My weekend started a little early.  I was able to get off work at lunch time on Thursday so I went home and did some sewing before I had to get the girls.

 Cotton napkins!  Yay, maybe we'll cut down on the extreme amount of paper towels we use! 

Oh yeah, here is a little pincushion I whipped up Thursday evening using some fabric scraps.  Isn't it cute?

Friday I had planned to get some errands taken care of then having lunch at school with the girls.  All didn't go as planned but does it ever?  I went to Wal-mart to pick up a few things and order some hot wings for the Superbowl.  I wanted the special where you "pick 3", two meats and a side - a pound of each.  I asked for that and wanted both of the meats to be hot wings.  Well, I think I can stop right here because you probably know what I am going to say.  That's right "you have to pick two different meats".   Long story short, I stood there 20 minutes to order some wings.  I had to speak to a manager about it and she was very nice and told the girl that didn't make sense and to give me what I wanted.  That took up so much of my time before I had to be at school for lunch so I did a quick run through and grabbed the things I needed, checked out, loaded my stuff in the car, returned the cart, and realized that I had three things under my purse in the cart that I hadn't paid for!  Yes, I took them back in and paid for them.  I first went to the guy who checked me out.  He was busy but laughed and suggested I do the self check out since it was empty and I only had 3 things.  I had just enough time to run home, throw my cold stuff in the fridge, grab my lunch and get to school.  Ava eats first and the kids were already sitting down when I got there.  She looked so relieved when she saw me.  She thought I wasn't coming!  I felt bad.  I did enjoy my lunch with the girls though.

After visiting with the girls I made a fabric run.  I was invited by my friend to go to a quilting group that evening and needed to get the material.

Quilt fabric!

I have never made a quilt and to be honest was a little intimidated.  However, my friend assured me I could do it.  Another friend of ours is the one who is leading the group.  I had so much fun meeting everyone and hanging out with such a great group of ladies!  My friend who leads the group was so patient and made sure everyone had the help they needed.  I got a lot done that night.  I was able to get the front done on Sunday.  Still a lot to do and I can't wait to go again!

 Here is a picture of some of the blocks that I was able to finish!  I feel like I got so much done :)

Aaron and I were able to spend the day on Saturday together.  My Mom and Step-dad picked the girls up and took them out for the day.  They went to the planetarium and had fun all day.  Aaron and I went to Burlington and out to lunch.  It was nice.  I was able to work on some embroidery pieces Saturday afternoon.  I also made this rice bag for my friend . . .

Sunday morning, the girls wanted waffles for breakfast.  I don't have a waffle maker, wish I did, so we had Eggo's!  I got a lot done around the house on Sunday and made homemade chicken noodle soup for lunch.  I felt very productive.  This included finishing sewing the rows together for my quilt.  Then before I knew it, it was time to go to a Superbowl party!  We had fun last night hanging out with good friends and eating good food!

 My sweet girls!

 Mmmm . . . good breakfast!

Homemade chicken noodle for lunch!  A favorite around here.

The front of my quilt!

  I finished up some more napkins before Superbowl.  I never use those fancy stitches on my sewing machine so I wanted to see what they would do.  Turned out pretty cute!

This evening we watched Megamind and enjoyed "hanging" out with the family :)  Now the kiddos are in bed and I am going to get rid of this piece of chocolate chess pie my MIL left for me.  I tell her not to leave things like that but she does not listen to me! 
  

Natalie